Sunday, January 4, 2009

HISPANIC FILM: the blog


I love movies and I love Spanish culture, so here starts my effort at merging and sharing the two. Although I live in Spain, this blog will be about films in the Spanish language, no matter where they are produced. I will also occasionally include information about films in English or other languages that have a connection to Spanish speaking countries, e.g. the director is a Spanish speaker, or the film is a production of a Spanish speaking country... Thus, the "and more" part of the blog's title.
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In this fan's opinion, the Hispanic countries with the most dynamic and interesting film output are Argentina and Spain. So, I'll start there. These two nations have cinema industries that are over 100 years old. The first film shown in Spain was in 1895 and in Argentina it was the following year. Both saw their first native film productions in 1897. Since then thousands of Argentine and Spanish movies have been enjoyed by cinema-goers the world over.

Argentina and Spain suffered through dictatorships that tried to stifle creativity, and each of their film industries survived and then blossomed with the return of democracy in the 70s and 80s. Today they are both vibrant, despite the economic challenges of the world and the competition from the Hollywood powerhouse. One of the ways filmmakers in Spain and Argentina face such challenges is to pool resources into co-productions. The year 2008 saw excellent productions coming out of both countries, and I will write about one of those in my next post.

Meanwhile, let me mention that your feedback is appreciated, either via the comments option, or email, spaintheblog@ownmail.net. Also, please feel free to visit and give feedback on my original blog, Spain: The Blog, and my somewhat tongue-in-cheek effort, Spanish Phrasal Verbs.

Saludos amig@s,

Carloz